In 2010, 63 national and 152 international banks had their registered offices in Frankfurt, including Germany's major banks, notably Deutsche Bank, DZ Bank, KfW and Commerzbank, as well as 41 representative offices of international banks.[6]

Etymology

The legend of the Frankenfurt (ford of the Franks)

Frankonovurd (in Old High German) or Vadum Francorum (in Latin) were the first names mentioned in written records from 794. It transformed to Frankenfort during the Middle Ages and then to Franckfort and Franckfurth in the modern era. According to historian David Gans, the city was named c. 146 AD by its builder, a Frankish king named Zuna, who ruled over the province then known as Sicambri. He hoped thereby to perpetuate the name of his lineage.[12] The name is derived from the Franconofurd of the Germanic tribe of the Franks; Furt (cf. English 'ford) where the river was shallow enough to be crossed on foot.

By the 19th century, the name Frankfurt had been established as the official spelling. The older English spelling of Frankfort is now rarely seen in reference to Frankfurt am Main, although more than a dozen other towns and cities, mainly in the United States, use this spelling (e.g., Frankfort, Kentucky; Frankfort, New York; Frankfort, Illinois).

The suffix 'am Main' has been used regularly since the 14th century. In English, the city's full name of Frankfurt am Main means 'Frankfurt on the Main' (pronounced like English 'mine' or German mein). Frankfurt is located on an ancient ford (German: Furt) on the Main River. As a part of early Franconia, the inhabitants were the early Franks, thus the city's name reveals its legacy as "the ford of the Franks on the Main".[13]

Among English speakers, the city is commonly known simply as Frankfurt, but Germans occasionally call it by its full name to distinguish it from the other (significantly smaller) German city of Frankfurt an der Oder in the federated state of Brandenburg on the Polish border.

The city district Bonames has a name probably dating back to Roman times, thought to be derived from bona me(n)sa (good table).

The common abbreviations for the city, primarily used in railway services and on road signs, are Frankfurt (Main), Frankfurt (M), Frankfurt a. M., Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt/M. The common abbreviation for the name of the city is "FFM". Also in use is "FRA", the IATA code for Frankfurt Airport.

The Frankfurter Messe (Frankfurt Trade Fair) was first mentioned in 1150. In 1240, Emperor Friedrich II granted an imperial privilege to its visitors, meaning they would be protected by the empire. The fair became particularly important when similar fairs in French Beaucaire lost attraction around 1380. Book trade fairs began in 1478.

In 1585, Frankfurt traders established a system of exchange rates for the various currencies that were circulating to prevent cheating and extortion. Therein lay the early roots for the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Frankfurt managed to remain neutral during the Thirty Years' War, but suffered from the bubonic plague that refugees brought to the city. After the war, Frankfurt regained its wealth.

Frankfurt in 1612

Frankfurt in 1872

Kaiserplatz, circa 1880

Impact of French revolution and the Napoleonic Wars

Following the French Revolution, Frankfurt was occupied or bombarded several times by French troops. It remained a free city until the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1805/6. In 1806, it became part of the principality of Aschaffenburg under the Fürstprimas (Prince-Primate), Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg. This meant that Frankfurt was incorporated into the confederation of the Rhine. In 1810, Dalberg adopted the title of a Grand Duke of Frankfurt. Napoleon intended to make his adopted son Eugène de Beauharnais, already Prince de Venise ("prince of Venice", a newly established primogeniture in Italy), Grand Duke of Frankfurt after Dalberg's death (since the latter as a Catholic bishop had no legitimate heirs). The Grand Duchy remained a short episode lasting from 1810 to 1813, when the military tide turned in favour of the Anglo-Prussian lead allies that overturned the Napoleonic order. Dalberg abdicated in favour of Eugène de Beauharnais, which of course was only a symbolic action, as the latter effectively never ruled after the ruin of the French armies and Frankfurt's takeover by the allies.

Frankfurt as a fully sovereign state

After Napoleon's final defeat and abdication, the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) dissolved the grand-duchy and Frankfurt became a fully sovereign city state with a republican form of government. Frankfurt entered the newly founded German Confederation (till 1866) as a free city, becoming the seat of its Bundestag, the confederal parliament where the nominally presiding Habsburg Emperor of Austria was represented by an Austrian "presidential envoy".

After the ill-fated revolution of 1848, Frankfurt was the seat of the first democratically elected German parliament, the Frankfurt Parliament, which met in the Frankfurter Paulskirche (St. Paul's Church) and was opened on 18 May 1848. The institution failed in 1849 when the Prussian king declared that he would not accept "a crown from the gutter". In the year of its existence, the assembly developed a common constitution for a unified Germany, with the Prussian king as its monarch.

Frankfurt after the loss of sovereignty

Frankfurt lost its independence after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 when Prussia annexed several smaller states, among them the Free City of Frankfurt. Frankfurt had stayed neutral in the war,[citation needed] but its free press bothered the Prussians and they used the opportunity to occupy the city by force: Bismarck had been an ambassador to the German Confederation there and constantly quarrelled with the local press. The Prussian administration incorporated Frankfurt into its province of Hesse-Nassau. The Prussian occupation and annexation was perceived as a great injustice in Frankfurt, which retained its distinct western European, urban and cosmopolitan character. The formerly independent towns of Bornheim and Bockenheim were incorporated in 1890.

In 1914, the citizens founded the University of Frankfurt, later named Goethe University Frankfurt. This marked the only civic foundation of a university in Germany; today it is one of Germany's largest.

Frankfurt was severely bombed in World War II (1939–1945). About 5,500 residents were killed during the raids, and the once-famous medieval city centre, by that time the largest in Germany, was almost completely destroyed. It became a ground battlefield on 26 March 1945, when the Allied advance into Germany was forced to take the city in contested urban combat that included a river assault. The 5th Infantry Division and the 6th Armored Division of the United States Army captured Frankfurt after several days of intense fighting, and it was declared largely secure on 29 March 1945.[16]

After the end of the war, Frankfurt became a part of the newly founded state of Hesse, consisting of the old Hesse-(Darmstadt) and the Prussian Hesse provinces. The city was part of the American Zone of Occupation of Germany. The Military Governor for the United States Zone (1945–1949) and the United States High Commissioner for Germany (HICOG) (1949–1952) had their headquarters in the IG Farben Building, intentionally left undamaged by the Allies' wartime bombardment.

Frankfurt was the original choice for the provisional capital city of the newly founded state of West Germany in 1949. The city constructed a parliament building that was never used for its intended purpose (it housed the radio studios of Hessischer Rundfunk). In the end, Konrad Adenauer, the first postwar Chancellor, preferred the town of Bonn, for the most part because it was close to his hometown, but also because many other prominent politicians opposed the choice of Frankfurt out of concern that Frankfurt would be accepted as the permanent capital, thereby weakening the West German population's support for a reunification with East Germany and the eventual return of the capital to Berlin.

Postwar reconstruction took place in a sometimes simple modern style, thus changing Frankfurt's architectural face. A few landmark buildings were reconstructed historically, albeit in a simplified manner (e.g., Römer, St. Paul's Church, and Goethe House). The collection of historically significant Cairo Genizah documents of the Municipal Library was destroyed by the bombing. According to Arabist and Genizah scholar S.D. Goitein, "not even handlists indicating its contents have survived."[17]

The Frankfurt Parliament at St. Paul's Church in 1848

Aerial view of the cathedral in May 1945

Reconstruction (1981–1984) of six houses at the east side of the Römerberg which were destroyed in World War II

The end of the war marked Frankfurt's comeback as Germany's leading financial centre, mainly because Berlin, now a city divided into four sectors, could no longer rival it. In 1948, the allies founded the Bank deutscher Länder, the forerunner of Deutsche Bundesbank. Following this decision, more financial institutions were re-established, e.g. Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank. In the 1950s, Frankfurt Stock Exchange regained its position as the country's leading stock exchange.

During the 1970s, the city created one of Europe's most efficient underground transportation systems.[18] That system includes a suburban rail system (S-Bahn) linking outlying communities with the city centre, and a deep underground light rail system with smaller coaches (U-Bahn) also capable of travelling above ground on rails.

Geography

It is the largest city in the federated state of Hesse in the south-western part of Germany.

Site

Frankfurt's skyline from across the Main, showing construction cranes

Frankfurt is located on both sides of the Main River, south-east of the Taunus mountain range. The southern part of the city contains the Frankfurt City Forest, Germany's largest city forest. The city area is 248.31 km2 (95.87 sq mi) and extends over 23.4 km (14.54 mi) east to west and 23.3 km (14.48 mi) north to south. The city centre is north of the River Main in Altstadt district (the historical centre) and the surrounding Innenstadt district. The geographical centre is in Bockenheim district near Frankfurt West station.

Districts

The 46 Stadtteile (city districts) of central Frankfurt

The city is divided into 46 city districts (Stadtteile), which are in turn divided into 121 city boroughs (Stadtbezirke) and 448 electoral districts (Wahlbezirke). The 46 city districts combine into 16 area districts (Ortsbezirke), which each have a district committee and chairperson.

The largest city district by population and area is Sachsenhausen, while the smallest is Altstadt, Frankfurt's historical center. Three larger city districts (Sachsenhausen, Westend and Nordend) are divided for administrative purposes into a northern (-Nord) and a southern (-Süd) part, respectively a western (-West) and an eastern (-Ost) part, but are generally considered as one city district (which is why often only 43 city districts are mentioned, even on the City's official website).[19]

Together with these towns (and some larger nearby towns, e.g., Hanau, Rodgau, Dreieich, Langen) Frankfurt forms a contiguous built-up urban area called Stadtregion Frankfurt which is not an official administrative district. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.3 million in 2010 and is therefore the 13th largest urban area in the European Union.

Climate

Frankfurt has a temperate-oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). Its average annual temperature is 10.6 °C (51.1 °F), with monthly mean temperatures ranging from 1.6 °C (34.9 °F) in January to 20.0 °C (68.0 °F) in July.

With a population of 732,688 (2015) within its administrative boundaries[23] and of 2,300,000 in the actual urban area,[4] Frankfurt is the fifth largest city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne.
Central Frankfurt has been a Großstadt (a city with at least 100,000 residents by definition) since 1875. With 414,576 residents in 1910, it was the ninth largest city in Germany and the number of inhabitants grew to 553,464 before World War II. After the war, at the end of the year 1945, the number had dropped to 358,000. In the following years, the population grew again and reached an all-time-high of 691,257 in 1963. It dropped again to 592,411 in 1986 but has increased since then. According to the demographic forecasts for central Frankfurt, the city will have a population up to 825,000 within its administrative boundaries in 2020 and more than 2.5 million inhabitants in its urban area.

During the 1970s, the state government of Hesse wanted to include the entire urban area into its administrative boundaries. This would have made Frankfurt officially the second largest city in Germany after Berlin with up to 3 million inhabitants.[24] However, because local authorities did not agree the administrative territory is still much smaller than its actual urban area.

Immigration

According to data from the city register of residents, 51.2% of the population had a migration background as of 2015, which means that a person or at least one of their parents was born with foreign citizenship. For the first time, a majority of the city residents had a (partial) non-German background.[27] Moreover, three of four children in the city under the age of six had immigrant backgrounds.[28] and 27.7% of residents had a foreign citizenship.[29]

The city is considered a multicultural city because it is home to people of more than 200 nationalities. The city contains sizable immigrant populations from Turkey, Syria, Croatia, Italy, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Russia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, Portugal, France, China, Japan, the United States, Austria, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Morocco and India.[25] The Frankfurt urban area is also home to the second-largest Korean community in Europe, and to Germany's largest Sri Lankan Tamil community.[30]

Religion

Frankfurt was historically a Protestant-dominated city. However, during the 19th century an increasing number of Catholics moved there. The Jewish community has a history dating back to Medieval times and has always ranked among the largest in Germany. Two synagogues operate there. Due to the growing immigration of people from Muslim countries beginning in the 1960s, Frankfurt has a large Muslim community. The AhmadiyyaNoor Mosque, constructed in 1959, is the city's largest mosque and the third largest in Germany.[31]

As of 2013[update], the largest Christian denominations were Roman Catholicism (22.7% of the population) and Protestantism (19.4%).[32] Estimations put the share of Muslim inhabitants at approximately 12% (2006).[33] According to calculations based on census data for 21 countries of origin, the number of Muslim migrants in Frankfurt amounted to about 84,000 in 2011, making up 12.6 percent of the population.[34] A large part of them was from Turkey and Morocco. Over 7,000 inhabitants were affiliated with the Jewish community, amounting to approximately 1% of the population.[35]

Partnerships

Partnerships and city friendships are a weaker form of cooperation than the sister city relationship, acting more like a fixed-term cooperation or limited to certain projects. Frankfurt has partnerships with the following cities:

Landmarks

Römer, the German word for Roman, is a complex of nine houses that form the Frankfurt city hall (Rathaus). The houses were acquired by the city council in 1405 from a wealthy merchant family. The middle house became the city hall and was later connected with its neighbours. The Kaisersaal ("Emperor's Hall") is located on the upper floor and is where the newly crowned emperors held their banquets. The Römer was partially destroyed in World War II and later rebuilt. The surrounding square, the Römerberg, is named after the city hall.

The former Altstadt (old town) quarter between the Römer and the Frankfurt Cathedral was to be redeveloped as the Dom-Römer Quarter through 2016, including reconstructions of historical buildings that were destroyed during World War II.

Since the 18th century, St. Bartholomew's has been called Dom, although it was never a bishop's seat. In 1867 it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in its present style. It was again partially destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in the 1950s. Its height is 95 meters. The cathedral tower has a viewing platform open to the public at a height of 66 meters, accessed through a narrow spiral staircase with 386 steps.

St. Paul's Church (Paulskirche) is a national historic monument in Germany because it was the seat of the first democratically elected parliament in 1848. It was established in 1789 as a Protestant church, but was not completed until 1833. Its importance has its roots in the Frankfurt Parliament, which met in the church during the revolutionary years of 1848/49 in order to write a constitution for a united Germany. The attempt failed because the monarchs of Prussia and Austria did not want to lose power. In 1849 Prussian troops ended the democratic experiment by force and the parliament dissolved. Afterwards, the building was used for church services again.

St. Paul's was partially destroyed in World War II, particularly its interior, which now has a modern appearance. It was quickly and symbolically rebuilt after the war; today it is used mainly for exhibitions and events.

The Archaeological Garden contains small parts of the oldest recovered buildings: an ancient Roman settlement and the Frankfurt Royal Palace (Kaiserpfalz Frankfurt) from the 6th century. The garden is located between the Römerberg and the Cathedral. It was discovered after World War II when the area was heavily bombed and later partly rebuilt. The remains were preserved and are now open to the public. There are plans underway to construct a building on top of the garden but anyhow it is decided that the garden will stay open to the public.

Haus Wertheim

Wertheim House is the only timbered house in the Altstadt district that survived the heavy bombings of World War II undamaged. It is located on the Römerberg next to the Historical Museum.

Saalhof

The Saalhof is the oldest conserved building in the Altstadt district and dates to the 12th century. It was used as an exhibition hall by Dutch clothiers when trade fairs were held during the 14th and 15th century. The Saalhof was partly destroyed in World War II and later rebuilt. Today it serves as a part of the Historical Museum.

Eiserner Steg

The Eiserner Steg (Iron Bridge) is a pedestrian-only bridge across the Main that connects Römerberg and Sachsenhausen. It was built in 1868 and was the second bridge to cross the river. After World War II, when it was blown up by the Wehrmacht, it was quickly rebuilt in 1946. Today some 10,000 people cross the bridge on a daily basis.

The Alte Oper is a former opera house, hence the name "Old Opera". The opera house was built in 1880 by architect Richard Lucae. It was one of the major opera houses in Germany until it was heavily damaged in World War II. Until the late 1970s, it was a ruin, nicknamed "Germany's most beautiful ruin". Former Frankfurt Lord Mayor Rudi Arndt called for blowing it up in the 1960s, which earned him the nickname "Dynamite-Rudi". (Later on, Arndt said he never had meant his suggestion seriously.)

Public pressure led to its refurbishment and reopening in 1981. Today, it functions as a famous concert hall, while operas are performed at the "new" Frankfurt Opera. The inscription on the frieze of the Alte Oper says: "Dem Wahren, Schönen, Guten" ("To the true, the beautiful, the good").

Eschenheimer Turm

The Eschenheim Tower (Eschenheimer Turm) was erected at the beginning of the 15th century and served as a city gate as part of late-medieval fortifications. It is the oldest and most unaltered building in the Innenstadt district.

St. Catherine's Church (Katharinenkirche) is the largest Protestant church, dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, a martyred early Christian saint. It is located in the city centre at the entrance to the Zeil, the central pedestrian shopping street.

Hauptwache

Although today Hauptwache is mostly associated with the inner-city underground train station of the same name, the name originates from a baroque building on the square above the station. The Hauptwache building was constructed in 1730 and was used as a prison, therefore the name that translates as "main guard-house". Today the square surrounding the building is also called "Hauptwache" (formal: An der Hauptwache). It is situated in the city centre opposite to St. Catherine's Church and houses a famous café.

Frankfurt Central Station (Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof), which opened in 1888, was built as the central train station for Frankfurt to replace three smaller train stations in the city centre and to boost the needed capacity for travellers. It was constructed as a terminus station and was the largest train station in Europe by floor area until 1915 when Leipzig Central Station was opened. Its three main halls were constructed in a neorenaissance-style, while the later enlargement with two outer halls in 1924 was constructed in neoclassic-style.

Frankfurter Hof

The Frankfurter Hof is a landmarked hotel in the city centre at Kaiserplatz, built from 1872 to 1876. It is part of Steigenberger Hotels group and is considered the city's most prestigious.

St. Leonhard

St. Leonhard, on the Main close to the bridge Eiserner Steg, is a Catholic late Gothichall church, derived from a Romanesque stylebasilica beginning in 1425. It is the only one of nine churches in the Old Town that survived World War II almost undamaged. The parish serves the English-speaking community. The church has been under restoration since 2011.

MyZeil, built 2004–2009, shopping mall at the Zeil with an imposing vaulted glass-structure.

The Squaire (portmanteau of square and air), also known as Airrail Center Frankfurt, is a 660 m (2,165.35 ft) long and 45 m (147.64 ft) tall office building located at Frankfurt Airport. It was built from 2006 to 2011 on top of an existing railway station (Frankfurt Airport long distance Station) and has a connecting bridge to Terminal 1 for pedestrians. Its total of 140,000 m2 (1,506,947 sq ft) rentable floor space makes it Germany's largest office building.

Skyscrapers

Upper section of the Main Tower with a public observation deck at 200 metres

Frankfurt is one of the few European cities with a significant number of skyscrapers, (buildings at least 150 m (492.13 ft) tall). It hosts 14 out of Germany's 15 skyscrapers. Most skyscrapers and high-rise office buildings are located in the financial district (Bankenviertel) near the city centre, around the trade fair premises (Europaviertel) and at Mainzer Landstraße between Opernplatz and Platz der Republik, which connects the two areas.

The first high-rise building boom came in the 1970s when Westend Gate (then called Plaza Büro Center) and Silberturm were constructed and became the tallest buildings in Germany with a height of 159.3 metres and 166.3 metres, respectively. Around the same time, Frankfurter Büro Center and City-Haus (142.4 metres and 142.1 metres) were constructed at Mainzer Landstraße and Eurotower (148.0 metres) and Garden Tower (127.0 metres; then called Helaba-Hochhaus) were constructed in the financial district.

None of the buildings constructed during the 1980s surpassed Silberturm. The most famous buildings from this decade are the Deutsche Bank Twin Towers at Taunusanlage, both 155.0 metres tall.

The 1990s featured a second wave. Messeturm, built on the trade fair site, reached a height of 256.5 metres and became the tallest building in Europe by 1991. It was overtaken by the 259-metre high Commerzbank Tower in 1997. Other tall buildings from this decade are Westendstrasse 1 (208.0 metres), Main Tower (200.0 metres) and Trianon (186.0 metres).

Other tall structures

Europaturm — The Europe Tower is a telecommunications tower, also known as the Frankfurt TV Tower, built from 1974 to 1979. With a height of 337.5 metres it is the tallest tower and the second tallest structure in Germany after the Fernsehturm Berlin. It was open to the public until 1999, with an entertainment establishment in the revolving top. It is normally referred to by locals as the "Ginnheimer Spargel" (Ginnheim Asparagus), but stands a few metres within Bockenheim district.

Henninger Turm — The Henninger Tower was a 120-metre-high grain silo built from 1959 to 1961 and owned by Henninger Brewery. It was the highest structure until 1974. The Henninger Tower had two rotating restaurants at the height of 101 and 106 metres and an open-air observation deck at the height of 110 metres. The tower closed to the public in October 2002 and was demolished in 2013 to be replaced by a 140 m (459 ft) tall residential tower, which is externally inspired by the old Henninger Turm, and will contain 130 luxury apartments. The cornerstone for this project was laid in June 2014 and was expected to be completed sometime in 2016. From 1962 to 2008 a famous yearly cycling race was named after the tower, the "Radrennen Rund um den Henninger Turm" (Cycling race around Henninger Tower). The now-renamed race is still a yearly event.

Goetheturm — The Goethe Tower was a 43-metre high tower on the northern edge of the Frankfurt City Forest in Sachsenhausen. It was the fifth tallest wood construction structure in Germany. It was built in 1931 and was a popular place for day-trippers until it burned down in 2017. A replacement is due to be built in 2019.[41]

Freßgass – (officially Kalbächer Gasse and Große Bockenheimer Straße) is a pedestrian-only street section between Börsenstraße and Opernplatz in the city centre. The name translates as "feeding alley" because of its high concentration of gastronomy, but lately prestigious shops (e.g., Apple Store, Hugo Boss, Porsche Design) have moved here due to the lack of space in the neighbouring Goethestraße, displacing old, established restaurants, butchers and delicatessens.

Berger Straße – Frankfurt's longest shopping street. It starts in the city center, runs through Nordend and Bornheim and ends in Seckbach. The street is less crowded than the Zeil and offers a greater variety of smaller shops, restaurants and cafés.

Braubachstraße – in the Altstadt district, close to the historic sites of the city, offers a large variety of art galleries, second-hand bookshops and antique shops.

Münchener Straße – In the Bahnhofsviertel district, located between the central station and Willy-Brandt-Platz, is the most multicultural shopping street with lots of shops that sell imported products mainly from Turkey, the Middle East and Asia.

Kaiserstraße – One of the best-known streets and considered one of the most beautiful because of its amount of Gründerzeit-style buildings. It runs parallel to Münchener Straße from the central station to the financial district. Kaiserstraße is still a synonym for Frankfurt's Red-light district although sex-oriented businesses moved to neighbouring streets such as Taunusstraße in the 1990s. Today Kaiserstraße houses many smaller shops, restaurants and cafés.

Kleinmarkthalle – (literally: Small Market Hall) is a market hall in the city centre close to Konstablerwache offering fresh food and flowers. In addition to regional delicacies like green sauce imported goods are offered. The Kleinmarkthalle is the largest public market place in Frankfurt.

Green city

With a large forest, many parks, the Main riverbanks and the two botanical gardens, Frankfurt is considered a "green city": More than 50 percent of the area within the city limits are protected green areas.[42]

Frankfurter Grüngürtel – The Green Belt is a ring-shaped public green space around the city. With 8,000 ha it covers a third of the administrative area. It includes the Frankfurter Stadtwald (Frankfurt City Forest, Germany's largest forest within a city), the Schwanheimer Düne (SchwanheimDune), the Niddatal (NiddaValley), the Niddapark, the Lohrberg (Lohr Mountain, Frankfurt's only vineyard), the Huthpark, the Enkheimer Ried (EnkheimMarsh), the Seckbacher Ried (SeckbachMarsh) and the Fechenheimer Mainbogen (a S-shaped part of the Main river in Fechenheim). The Green Belt is a protected area which means that housing is not allowed. The Green Belt was formally created in 1991 with its own constitution.

Mainuferpark – The Mainuferpark (Main Riverbanks Park) is the common term to describe the inner-city Main riverbanks. It is an auto-free zone with large green areas that is popular with strollers and tourists, especially in the summertime, when it can become crowded. The southern riverbank, which continues further to Offenbach am Main and Hanau, offers the best skyline views. The northern riverbank ends in the west at the former Westhafen (West Harbour, a residential housing area) and is growing to the east: A former industrial-used area between the future Seat of the European Central Bank and the Osthafen (East Harbour) was to become a park named Hafenpark (Harbour Park).

Wallanlagen – The Wallanlagen (former ramparts) relate to the former ring-shaped city wall fortifications around the Altstadt and the Innenstadt district (abolished 1804–1812), now a series of parks. Building is not allowed, with a few exceptions, the most famous being the Alte Oper (built 1880) at the Opernplatz. The part between the northern Main riverbank and the Opernplatz, referred to officially as Taunusanlage and Gallusanlage, is locally known as "Central Park" (a reference to the famous park in Manhattan), because of the skyscrapers which stand on both sides.

Nizza Park – At the juncture of the northern Main riverbank and the Wallanlagen is a famous small park called Nizza. The name of the park recalls Nice in southern France, because it is one of the warmest areas with a nearly mediterranean climate. Numerous Mediterranean flora grow there and can survive outside during the winter.

Garten des Himmlischen Friedens – Garden of Heavenly Peace, named after the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, is a Chinese-styled park in the Nordend district and part of the larger Bethmannpark. It contains Chinese buildings, with building materials imported from China and built by Chinese workers in the 1980s. Hosts traditional Chinese plants and herbs.

Other parks – The largest parks are the Niddapark (168 ha), the Ostpark (32 ha) and the Grüneburgpark (29 ha).

Museums

With more than 30 museums, Frankfurt has one of the largest variety of museums in Europe. 20 museums are part of the Museumsufer (Museums Riverbank), located on the front row of both sides of the Main riverbank or nearby, which was created on an initiative by cultural politician Hilmar Hoffmann.

Ten museums are located on the southern riverbank in Sachsenhausen between the Eiserner Steg and the Friedensbrücke. The street itself, Schaumainkai, is partially closed to traffic on Saturdays for Frankfurt's largest flea market.

Other museums are the Dialogmuseum (Dialogue Museum) in the Ostend district, Eintracht Frankfurt Museum at Commerzbank-Arena, Explora Museum+Wissenschaft+Technik (Explora Museum of Science and Engineering) in the Nordend district, the Frankfurter Feldbahnmuseum e.V. (Light Railway Museum Frankfurt) in the Gallus district, the Verkehrsmuseum Frankfurt (Transport Museum Frankfurt) in the Schwanheim district, the Hammer Museum in the Bahnhofsviertel district and the Geldmuseum der Deutschen Bundesbank (Money Museum of the German Federal Bank) in the Ginnheim district.

Venues

Oper Frankfurt – A leading Germany opera company and one of Europe's most important. It was elected Opera house of the year (of Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland) by German magazine Opernwelt in 1995, 1996 and 2003. It was also elected Best opera house in Germany in 2010 and 2011. Its orchestra was voted Orchestra of the year in 2009, 2010 and 2011.[44]

Schauspiel Frankfurt – Theatre at Willy-Brandt-Platz in the financial district, next to the Frankfurt Opera.

Commerzbank-Arena – Frankfurt's largest sports stadium and one of Germany's ten largest. It is located in the Frankfurt City Forest near Niederrad. It is primarily used for soccer and concerts with a capacity up to 51,500. It opened in 1925 and underwent several major reconstructions. Locals still prefer to call the stadium by its traditional name, Waldstadion (Forest Stadium).

Jahrhunderthalle – Century Hall is a large concert and exhibition hall in Unterliederbach district. Sometimes referred to as "Jahrhunderthalle Höchst", because it was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the chemical company Hoechst AG in 1963.

The English Theatre – Located on the ground floor of the Gallileo high-rise building, this is the largest anglophone theatre in continental Europe. It was established in 1979.

Tigerpalast – Tiger Palace is a varieté in the city centre near the Zeil. It was established in 1988 and houses the famous Tiger-Restaurant which was awarded a Michelin star.

Künstlerhaus Mousonturm – House of Artists Mouson Tower is a free theatre, which means that it has a smaller budget than traditional theatres and used more unconventional performing methods. It is located in an old factory in the Ostend district.

Die Schmiere – The Grease is a cabaret and Frankfurt's oldest privately owned theatre. It is located in the Karmeliterkloster in the Altstadt district. According to its own advertising it is the worst theatre in the world.

Die Komödie – The Comedy is a boulevard theatre in the city centre near Willy-Brandt-Platz.

Botanical gardens

Palmengarten

Frankfurt is home to two major botanical gardens.

Palmengarten – Located in the Westend district, it is Hesse's largest botanical garden covering 22 ha. It opened to the public in 1871. The botanical exhibits are organized according to their origin in free-air or in greenhouses that host tropical and subtropical plants, hence the name "Palm Garden".

Institut Français – A French public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC), started in 1907 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for promoting French, francophone as well as local cultures around the world. The French Institute works closely with the French cultural network abroad consisting of more than 150 branches and nearly 1000 branches of the Alliance française around the world.[2]

Istituto Italiano di Cultura – A worldwide non-profit organization created by the Italian government. It promotes Italian culture and is involved in the teaching of the Italian language; there are 83 Italian Cultural Institutes throughout major cities around the world.[3]

Confucius Institute – A non-profit public educational organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China,[2] whose aim is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges. There are over 480 Confucius Institutes worldwide.[4]

Central and Eastern European Online Library – CEEOL is an online archive providing access to full text articles from humanities and social science scholarly journals on Central, Eastern and South Eastern European topics. Subject areas include anthropology, culture and society, economy, gender studies, history, Judaic studies, fine arts, literature, linguistics, political sciences and social sciences, philosophy and religion. CEEOL is operated by Questa.Soft GmbH.[5]

Festivals

The Museumsuferfest in 2005

Wäldchestag in 2002

"OVO" at Luminale 2012

Museumsuferfest – Museums Riverbank Festival is one of Germany's biggest cultural festivals, attracting more than 3 million visitors over three days at the end of August along the Main riverbank in the city centre. The 20 museums there open far into the night. It offers live music, dance shows, booths for crafts, jewellery, clothes and food stands from around the world.

Dippemess – Frankfurt's oldest folk festival is the Festival of Stoneware, which takes place semi-annually around Easter and the end of September in the eastern area. "Dippe" is a regional Hessian dialect word meaning "pot" or "jar" which would not be understood in most other German regions. Mentioned for the first time in the 14th century as an annual marketplace it is now more of an amusement park. The name of the festival derives from its original purpose, when it was a fair where traditionally crafted jars, pots and other stoneware were on offer.

Wäldchestag – Day of the forest is known as a regional holiday because until the 1990s it was common that Frankfurt's shops were closed on this day. The festival takes place over four days after Pentecost with the formal Wäldchestag on Tuesday. Its unique location is in the Frankfurt City Forest, south-west of the city centre in Niederrad. "Wäldches" is a regional dialect of the German word "Wäldchen", meaning "small forest".

Nacht der Museen – Night of the museums takes place every year in April or May. 50 museums in Frankfurt and in the neighbouring city of Offenbach am Main are open until 2:00 am surrounded by special music events, dance performances, readings and guided tours. A free shuttle operates between the museums. In 2010, approximately 40,000 visitors attended.

Nacht der Clubs – Night of the clubs is an event similar to Nacht der Museen: On one night as many as 20 clubs can be visited with a single ticket for €12. Usually club-door-policies are loosened to attract new customers. A free shuttle runs between the clubs. 15,000 people participated in 2008.

Luminale — The "festival of light" takes place biannually since 2000, parallel to the Light + building exhibition at the trade fair. Many buildings are specially lit for the event. In 2008, more than 220 light installations could be seen and attracted 100,000 visitors. The last Luminale was held in March 2018.

Wolkenkratzer Festival — The Skyscraper Festival is unique in Germany. It takes place irregularly, lately in May 2013, and attracted around 1.2 million visitors. For two days most skyscrapers are open to the public. Sky-divers, base jumpers, fireworks and laser shows are extra attractions.

Nightlife

Cocoon Club

Frankfurt at Night

Frankfurt offers a variety of restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs. Clubs concentrate in and around the city centre and in the Ostend district, mainly close to Hanauer Landstraße. Restaurants, bars and pubs concentrate in Sachsenhausen, Nordend, Bornheim and Bockenheim.

One of the main venues of the early Trance music sound was the Omen nightclub (closed 1998). Another popular disco club of the 1980-1990s and a hotspot for Techno/Trance music was the Dorian Gray, located within Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Airport. Because of the location at the airport the club had no restrictions regarding opening hours. The club had to close at the end of 2000 because of stricter fire safety regulations. Also notable for its extraordinary design was Coocoon Club in Fechenheim which opened in 2004 was and voted best techno club of the year by music magazines "Groove" and "Raveline" in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. It closed in 2012.[45]

King Kamehameha Club – named after the first king of Hawaii and a fictional Club in Magnum, P.I., was a disco club at Hanauer Landstraße, known for live music. It opened in 1999 and expanded with a beach club in Offenbach am Main and a restaurant (King Kamehameha Suite) in the financial district. The club closed in 2013, although the King Kamehameha Suite is still open.

U60311 – Techno club in the city centre. "60311" is the postal code of the area. It was voted best club of the year by music magazines "Groove" and "Raveline" multiple times. Its location was an underground former pedestrian underpass. It closed in 2012.

Living XXL – Club/restaurant in the financial district, it was located on the ground floor of the Eurotower and closed in 2013.[46]

Club 101 — Located on the 24th floor of the Japan Center. It closed at the end of 2016.[47]

Batschkapp, 2014

Batschkapp – Alternative rock club, located in Frankfurt-Seckbach. It opened in 1976 and attracts mostly people with a left-wing political attitude.[citation needed]Joschka Fischer, Germany's former Foreign Minister, was a regular guest in the 1980s.

Klapperfeld (Innenstadt) - former police prison, now alternative political and cultural centre

Domestic culture

A "Frankfurt kitchen" in the version of 1926 in an Austrian museum

Frankfurt kitchen – Designed originally in 1926 for the New Frankfurt-project and built in some 10,000 units, the kitchen became a milestone in domestic architecture, considered the forerunner of modern fitted kitchens.

Frankfurt cupboard – The Baroque Frankfurt-style cupboards were used to store the family linen, one of them by Goethe's father, who took one cupboard to Rome. The most luxurius versions have wave-shaped parts, some are made of solid cherry wood inlaid with plumwood.

Culinary specialties

Apfelwein – Apple wine or hard cider is regionally known as "Ebbelwoi", "Äppler" or "Stöffsche". It has an alcohol content of 5.5%–7% and a tart, sour taste. It is traditionally served in a glass, typically decorated with lozenges, called "Geripptes", a full glass is then called "Schoppen". Apfelwein is also available in a stoneware jar locally known as "Bembel". A group normally orders a "Bembel" and shares the contents. Apfelwein can be ordered as "sauergespritzer", which is apfelwein blended with 30% mineral water or as "süssgespritzer", which is Apfelwein blended with lemon soda, orange soda or fresh-pressed apple juice (lemon soda being the most common). Most of the pubs which serve Apfelwein are located in Sachsenhausen, which is therefore known as "Ebbelwoi district". Due to its national drink Frankfurt is sometimes called "Big Ebbel" (pronunciation with hessian dialect), an homage to Big Apple, the famous nickname of New York City.

Grüne Soße – Green sauce is a sauce made with hard-boiled eggs, oil, vinegar, salt and generous amount of seven fresh herbs, namely borage, sorrel, garden cress, chervil, chives, parsley and salad burnet. Variants, often due to seasonal availability include dill, lovage, lemon balm and spinach. Original green sauce Frankfurt-style is made of herbs that were gathered only on fields within the city limits.

Frankfurter Rippchen – Also known as Rippchen mit Kraut, this is a traditional dish which consists of cured pork cutlets, slowly heated in sauerkraut or meat broth, and usually served with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and yellow mustard.

Handkäs mit Musik – German regional sour milk cheese (similar to Harzer) and a culinary specialty in the Rhine Main Region. The traditional way producing it is by hand. When it is topped with chopped onions it becomes "Handkäs mit Musik" (with music) because the onions are supposed to stimulate flatulence.

Roads

Frankfurt is a traffic hub for the German motorway (Autobahn) system. The Frankfurter Kreuz is an Autobahn interchange close to the airport, where the Bundesautobahn 3 (A3), Cologne to Würzburg, and the Bundesautobahn 5 (A5), Basel to Hannover, meet. With approximately 320,000 cars passing through it every day it is Europe's most heavily used interchange. The Bundesautobahn 66 (A66) connects Frankfurt with Wiesbaden in the west and Fulda in the east. The Bundesautobahn 661 (A661) is mainly a commuter motorway which starts in the south (Egelsbach), runs through the eastern part and ends in the north (Oberursel). The Bundesautobahn 648 (A648) is a very short motorway in the western part which primarily serves as a fast connection between the A 66 and the Frankfurt Trade Fair. The A5 in the west, the A3 in the south and the A661 in the north-east form a ring road around the inner city districts and define a Low-emission zone (Umweltzone; established in 2008), meaning that vehicles have to meet certain emission criteria to enter the zone.

The streets of central Frankfurt are usually congested with cars during rush hour. Some areas, especially around the shopping streets Zeil, Goethestraße and Freßgass, are pedestrian-only streets. Car parks are located throughout the city and especially in the city centre.

Frankfurt Airport stations

Frankfurt Airport can be accessed by two railway stations: Frankfurt Airport long-distance station (Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof) is only for long-distance traffic and connects the airport to the main rail network, with most of the ICE services using the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line. The long-distance station is located outside the actual airport ground but has a connecting bridge for pedestrians to Terminal 1, concourse B. Frankfurt Airport regional station (Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof) is for local S-Bahn trains (lines S8, S9) and regional trains. The regional station is located within Terminal 1, concourse B.

Frankfurt South station

Frankfurt's third long-distance station is Frankfurt South station (Frankfurt Südbahnhof, often abbreviated as Frankfurt (Main) Süd or F-Süd), located in Sachsenhausen. It is an important destination for local trains and trams (lines 14 to 16, 19) and the terminal stop for four U-Bahn lines (U1, U2, U3, U8) and four S-Bahn lines (S3, S4, S5, S6).

Messe stations

The Frankfurt Trade Fair offers two railway stations: Messe station is for local S-Bahn trains (lines S3-S6) and is located at the centre of the trade fair premises while Festhalle/Messe station is served by U-Bahn line U4 and is located at the north-east corner of the premises.

Konstablerwache station and Hauptwache station

Two other major railway stations in the city centre are Konstablerwache and Hauptwache, located on each end of the Zeil. They are the main stations to change from east-to-west-bound S-Bahn trains to north-to-south-bound U-Bahn trains. Konstablerwache station is the second-busiest railway station regarding daily passenger volume (191,000) after the central station. The third-busiest railway station is Hauptwache station (181,000).[citation needed]

Coach stations

There are three stations for intercity bus services in Frankfurt: one at the south side of the Central Station, one at the Terminal 2 of the airport and another one at Stephanstraße.[50]

U-Bahn

The U-Bahn has nine lines (U1 to U9) serving Frankfurt and the larger suburbs of Bad Homburg and Oberursel in the north. The trains that run on the U-Bahn are in fact light rail (Stadtbahn) as many lines travel along a track in the middle of the street instead of underground further from the city centre. The minimum service interval is 2.5 minutes, although the usual pattern is that each line runs at 7.5 to 10-minute intervals, which produce between 3 and 5-minute intervals on city centre tracks shared by more than one line.

Tram

Frankfurt has ten tram lines (11, 12, 14 to 21), with trams arriving usually every 10 minutes. Many sections are served by two lines, combining to run at 5-minute intervals during rush-hour. Trams only run above ground and serve more stops than the U-Bahn or the S-Bahn.

Bus

A number of bus lines complete the Frankfurt public transport system. Night buses replace U-Bahn and tram services between 1:30 am and 3:30 am.[52] The central junction for the night bus service is Konstablerwache in the city centre, where all night bus lines start and end.

Taxis

Taxicabs can usually be found outside the major S-Bahn and U-Bahn stations, at the central station, the south station, the airport, the trade fair and in the crowded inner-city shopping streets. The common way to obtain a taxi is to either call a taxi operator or to go to a taxi rank. However, although not the norm, one can hail a passing taxi on the street.

Uber ceased operations in Frankfurt on 9 November 2015 after operating in the city for 18 months.[53]

Bicycles

Velotaxi at the Zeil

Deutsche Bahn makes bicycles available for hire through their Call a Bike service. The bicycles are stationed all over the city, including at selected railway stations. They can easily be spotted because of their eye-catching silver-red colour. To rent a specific bike, riders either call a service number to get an unlock code or reserve the bike via the smartphone application. To return the bike, the rider locks it within a designated return area (and calls the service number, if not booked via the app).[54]

Nextbike also makes bicycles available for hire in Frankfurt. They are stationed all over the city. These can be spotted with their blue color scheme.

Cycle rickshaws (velotaxis), a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers in addition to the driver, are also available. These are allowed to operate in pedestrian-only areas and are therefore practical for sightseeing.

Frankfurt has a network of cycle routes. Many long-distance bike routes into the city have cycle tracks that are separate from motor vehicle traffic. A number of roads in the city centre are "bicycle streets" where the cyclist has the right of way and where motorised vehicles are only allowed access if they do not disrupt the cycle users. In addition, cyclists are allowed to ride many cramped one-way streets in both directions. As of 2015[update], 15 percent of citizens used bicycles.[55]

According to an annual study by Cushman & Wakefield, the European Cities Monitor (2010), Frankfurt has been one of the top three cities for international companies in Europe, after London and Paris, since the survey started in 1990.[59] It is the only German city considered to be an alpha world city (category 3) as listed by the Loughborough University group's 2010 inventory,[60] which was a promotion from the group's 2008 inventory when it was ranked as an alpha minus world city (category 4).[61]

With over 922 jobs per 1,000 inhabitants, Frankfurt has the highest concentration of jobs in Germany. On work days and Saturdays one million people commute from all over the Rhein-Main-Area.

The city is expected to benefit from international banks relocating jobs from London to Frankfurt as a result of Brexit to retain access to the EU market.[62][63] Thus far, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc., Standard Chartered Plc and Nomura Holdings Inc. announced to move their EU headquarters to Frankfurt.[63]

Central banks

The new headquarters of the European Central Bank in the Ostend district

Frankfurt is home to two important central banks: the German Bundesbank and the European Central Bank (ECB).[64]

European Central Bank

The European Central Bank (Europäische Zentralbank) is one of the world's most important central banks. The ECB sets monetary policy for the Eurozone, consisting of 19 European Unionmember states that have adopted the Euro (€) as their common currency. From 1998 the ECB Headquarters have been located in Frankfurt, first in the Eurotower at Willy-Brandt-Platz and in two other nearby high-rises. The new Seat of the European Central Bank in the Ostend district, consisting of the former wholesale market hall (Großmarkthalle) and a newly built 185-metre skyscraper, was completed in late 2014. The new building complex was designed to accommodate up to 2,300 ECB personnel. The location is a few kilometres away from the city centre and borders an industrial area as well as the Osthafen (East Harbour), It was primarily chosen because of its large premises which allows the ECB to install security arrangements without high fences.

The city honours the importance of the ECB by officially using the slogan "The City of the Euro" since 1998.

German Federal Bank

The German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank), located in Ginnheim, was established in 1957 as the central bank for the Federal Republic of Germany. Until the euro (€) was introduced in 1999, the Deutsche Bundesbank was responsible for the monetary policy of Germany and for the German currency, the Deutsche Mark (DM). The Bundesbank was greatly respected for its control of inflation through the second half of the 20th century. Today the Bundesbank is an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) which is formed by all 27 European Union member states.

Commercial banks

In 2010, 63 national and 152 international banks had a registered office, including the headquarters of the major German banks, as well as 41 offices of international banks.[6] Frankfurt is therefore known as Bankenstadt ("City of the banks") and nicknamed "Mainhattan" (a portmanteau of the local Main river and Manhattan in New York City) or "Bankfurt". 73,200 people were employed at banks in 2010.

Deutsche Bank — Germany's largest commercial bank. It had 15% share of private customers and total assets of €1,900 billion in 2010. Deutsche Bank ranks among the 30 largest banks in the world and the ten largest banks in Europe.[65] Deutsche Bank is listed on the DAX, the stock market index of the 30 largest German business companies at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In November 2010 Deutsche Bank bought the majority of shares of competitor Postbank. Its headquarters are located at Taunusanlage in the financial district.

DZ Bank — Central institution for more than 900 co-operative banks (Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken) and their 12,000 branch offices in Germany and is a corporate and investment bank. It is Germany's second-largest bank (total assets: €509 billion). The DZ Bank Group defines itself primarily as a service provider for the local Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken and their 30 million clients. The DZ Bank headquarters are the Westend Tower and the City-Haus at Platz der Republik. The DZ Bank Group includes Union Investment, DVB Bank and Reisebank, which are also headquartered in Frankfurt.

KfW Bankengruppe — Government-owned development bank formed in 1948 as part of the Marshall Plan. KfW provides loans for approved purposes at lower rates than commercial banks, especially to medium-sized businesses. With total assets of €507 billion (2017), it is Germany's third-largest bank. The KfW headquarters are located in the Westend district at Bockenheimer Landstraße and Senckenberganlage.

Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen – Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, or short Helaba, is the central federal bank (Landesbank) for the federal states of Hesse and Thuringia. As such, it is state-owned and defined as a service provider for the local German public banks (Sparkassen). Helaba is one of nine Landesbanken and is the fifth-largest in Germany. It is located in the 200-metre-tall Main Tower in the financial district, the only skyscraper with an observation desk open to the public.

DekaBank – DekaBank is the central asset manager of the Sparkassen in Germany. The headquarters of DekaBank are located at the Trianon skyscraper at Mainzer Landstraße.

Frankfurt Stock Exchange

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) began in the 9th century. By the 16th century Frankfurt had developed into an important European hub for trade fairs and financial services. Today the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is by far the largest in Germany, with a turnover of more than 90 percent of the German stock market and is the third-largest in Europe after the London Stock Exchange and the European branch of the NYSE Euronext. The most important stock market index is the DAX, the index of the 30 largest German business companies listed at the stock exchange. The stock exchange is owned and operated by Deutsche Börse, which is itself listed in the DAX. Deutsche Börse also owns the European futures exchangeEurex and clearing company Clearstream. Trading takes place exclusively via the Xetra trading system, with redundant floor brokers taking on the role of market-makers on the new platform.

On 1 February 2012 European Commission blocked the proposed merger of Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext. "The merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext would have led to a near-monopoly in European financial derivatives worldwide. These markets are at the heart of the financial system and it is crucial for the whole European economy that they remain competitive. We tried to find a solution, but the remedies offered fell far short of resolving the concerns."[66] European competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, said.

It is located in the city centre at the Börsenplatz. Deutsche Börse's headquarters are formally registered in Frankfurt but it moved most of its employees to a high-rise called "The Cube" in Eschborn in 2010, primarily due to significantly lower local corporate taxes.

Frankfurt Trade Fair

Frankfurt Trade Fair (Messe Frankfurt) has the third-largest exhibition site in the world with a total of 578,000 square metres (6,221,540 square feet). The trade fair premises are located in the western part between Bockenheim, the Westend and the Gallus district. It houses ten exhibition halls with a total of 321,754 square meters (3,463,331 square feet) of space and 96,078 square metres (1,034,175 square feet) of outdoor space.

Hosted in Frankfurt are the Frankfurt Motor Show (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung – IAA), the world's largest auto show, the Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter Buchmesse), the world's largest book fair, the Ambiente Frankfurt, the world's largest consumer goods fair, the Achema, the world's largest plant engineering fair, and many more like Paperworld, Christmasworld, Beautyworld, Tendence Lifestyle or Light+Building.

Messe Frankfurt GmbH, the owner and operator company, organized 87 exhibitions in 2010, 51 thereof in foreign countries. It is one of the largest trade fair companies with commercial activities in over 150 countries.

Messeturm

A landmark building of the trade fair (and of the whole city) is the Messeturm (the name translates as Fair Trade Tower), which was the tallest building in Europe from 1991 to 1997. It is located on the north-east corner of the trade fair premises at the so-called city entrance. Despite the name it is not used for exhibition but serves as an office tower.

Aviation

Frankfurt Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world and is also the single largest place of work in Germany with over 500 companies which employ 71,500 people (2010).[67]

Lufthansa

The largest employer at Frankfurt Airport is Lufthansa, Germany's flag carrier and Europe's largest airline. Lufthansa employs 35,000 people in Frankfurt.[68][69] The Lufthansa Aviation Center (LAC) is the main operation base of Lufthansa at Frankfurt Airport. The airport serves as Lufthansa's primary hub with 157 worldwide destinations (compared to 110 destinations at Munich Airport, Lufthansa's second-largest hub). Lufthansa Cargo is based in Frankfurt and operates its largest cargo center (LCC) at Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa Flight Training is also based here.

Credit rating agencies

Investment trust companies

DWS Investments is the largest investment trust company in Germany and manages €288 billion fund assets. It is one of the 10 largest investment trust companies in the world.[71] Other large investment trust companies are Allianz Global Investors Europe (a division of Allianz SE, and a top-five global active investment manager with €1,933 billion assets under management globally), Union Investment and Deka Investmentfonds.

Advertising agencies

Although it is best known for its banks and financial institutions, Frankfurt is also a centre for media companies. Around 570 companies of the advertising industry and 270 public relations companies are there.

Food

Frankfurt is home to the German headquarters of Nestlé, the world's largest food company, located in Niederrad. Other important food companies are Ferrero SpA (German headquarters) and Radeberger Gruppe KG, the largest private brewery group in Germany.

Automotive

The South-Korean automobile manufacturerKia Motors moved its European headquarters to Frankfurt in 2007. In the same year Italian manufacturer Fiat opened its new German headquarters. The automotive supplier Continental AG has the headquarters and a major manufacturing plant of its Chassis & Safety division (formerly ITT Automotive) located in Frankfurt Rödelheim.

Construction

Some of the largest German construction companies have offices, e.g., Bilfinger Berger, Hochtief, Züblin and BAM Deutschland.

Property and real estate

Frankfurt has Germany's highest concentration of homeowners. This is partly attributed to the financial sector, but also to its cosmopolitan nature, with expatriates and immigrants representing one fourth of its population. For this reason Frankfurt's property market often operates differently than the rest of the country where the prices are generally flatter.

Frankfurt was voted the 7th in the Mercer Quality of Living Survey by the Mercer Quality of Living Survey (2012),[75] seventh in the Mercer Quality of Living Survey (2010) and 18th at the Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities Survey (2011).[76] According to an annual citizen survey (2010), arranged by the city council, 66 percent inhabitants are satisfied or highly satisfied with the city, while only 6 percent said that they are dissatisfied. Compared to the 1993's survey the number of satisfied inhabitants has grown about 22 percent while the number of dissatisfied inhabitants was reduced by 8 percent. 84 percent of the inhabitants like to live in Frankfurt, 13 percent would rather choose to live somewhere else. 37 percent are satisfied with the public safety (1993: only 9 percent), 22 percent are dissatisfied (1993: 64 percent).[77]

Frankfurt consistently has the highest levels of crime per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany (15.976 crimes per annum in 2008) and is therefore dubbed the German "crime capital".[78] However, this statistic is often criticized[citation needed] because it ignores major factors: It is calculated based on the administrative 680,000-inhabitant figure while the urban area has 2.5 M inhabitants and on weekdays adds another million people[citation needed] (not counting the 53 million passengers passing through the airport each year). The rate for personal safety-relevant crimes such as murder, manslaughter, rape or bodily harm, is 3.4 percent, placing Frankfurt twelfth in the ranking (related to the official 680,000-inhabitant figure) or number 21 (related to the one-million-figure).[79]

German National Library

Frankfurt is one of two sites of the German National Library (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek), the other being Leipzig. The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek is the largest universal library in Germany. Its task, unique in Germany, is to collect, permanently archive, comprehensively document and record bibliographically all German and German-language publications from 1913 on, foreign publications about Germany, translations of German works and the works of German-speaking emigrants published abroad between 1933 and 1945, and to make them available to the public.

Sights

Frankfurt is one of Germany's leading tourist destinations. In addition to its infrastructure and economy, its diversity supports a vibrant cultural scene. This blend of attractions led 4.3 million tourists (2012) to visit Frankfurt.[80] The Hotels in central Frankfurt offer 34,000 beds in 228 hotels, of which 13 are luxury hotels and 46 are first-class hotels.[81]

Newspapers

Two important daily newspapers are published. The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, also known as FAZ, was founded in 1949 and is the German newspaper with the widest circulation outside of Germany, with its editors claiming to deliver the newspaper to 148 countries every day. The FAZ has a circulation of over 380,000 copies daily. The other important newspaper, the Frankfurter Rundschau, was first published in 1945 and has a daily circulation of over 181,000.

Magazines

Several magazines also originate from Frankfurt. The local Journal Frankfurt is the best-known magazine for events, parties, and "insider tips". Öko-Test is a consumer-oriented magazine that focuses on ecological topics. Titanic is a well-known and often criticized satirical magazine with a circulation of approximately 100,000.

Radio and TV

Frankfurt's first radio station was the Südwestdeutsche Rundfunkdienst AG (Southwest German Broadcast Service), founded in 1924. Its successor service is the public broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessian Broadcast Service). It is located at the "Funkhaus am Dornbusch" in the Dornbusch district and is one of the most important radio and television broadcasters in Hesse, with additional studios in Kassel, Darmstadt and Fulda.

Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

The Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences was created out of several older organisations in 1971, and offers over 38 study areas, in the arts, sciences, engineering and law. Some of the most important research projects: Planet Earth Simulator, FraLine-IT-School-Service, quantitative analysis of methane in human corpses with the help of a mass spectrometer, software engineering (e.g., fraDesk), analysis of qualitative and quantitative gas in human lungs, long-term studies on photovoltaic modules (to name only a few).

Frankfurt School of Finance and Management

The city is also home to a business school, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, formerly known as the Hochschule für Bankwirtschaft (Institution of Higher Learning for Banking Economics), with its new campus near Deutsche Nationalbibliothek U-Bahn stop (recently moving from its previous location in the Ostend (Eastend) neighbourhood). In 2001, it became a specialist institution for Economics and Management, or FOM. Frankfurt School is consistently ranked among the best business schools in the world, attributed to its high research output and quality of undergraduate and graduate training.[89]

Städelschule

Frankfurt has the State Institution of Higher Learning for Artistic Education known as the Städelschule, founded in 1817 by Johann Friedrich Städel. It was taken over by the city in 1942 and turned into a state art school.

Frankfurt is host to the Römisch-Germanische-Kommission (RGK), the German Archaeological Institute branch for prehistoric archaeology in Germany and Europe. The RGK is involved in a variety of research projects. Its library, with over 130,000 volumes, is one of the largest specialised archaeological libraries in the world.

Frankfurt schools rank among the best equipped schools nationwide for availability of PCs and other media facilities. In order to assure maintenance and support of the school PCs, the city in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences launched the project Fraline – IT-Schul-Service, an initiative employing students to provide basic school IT-support.

Frankfurt is host to the classic cycle race Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop (known as Rund um den Henninger-Turm from 1961 to 2008). The city hosts also the annual Frankfurt Marathon and the Ironman Germany. In addition to the former, it is one of 13 global host locations to the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge [6], Germany's biggest corporate sports event. Rhein-Main Eissport Club forms the base of the German bandy community.[7]

^ abEuropean Union: State of European Cities Report "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2010.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link) Retrieved 22 April 2014

^"French march into Germany". The Times. 7 April 1920. p. 10. "The French commander issued a notice to the public informing them that the occupation was consequent upon the German advance in the Ruhr contrary to the Peace Treaty."

^Stanton, Shelby, World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946 (Revised Edition, 2006), Stackpole Books, p. 57, 84.

^Goitein, S.D. A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza, Vol. I – Economic Foundations. University of California Press, 2000, p. 5